A day ahead of the grand finale of Smart India Hackathon, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday asserted that "young India is filled with talent" and the event "showcases this very spirit of innovation and excellence."
Taking to micro-blogging site Twitter, PM Modi said, "Young India is filled with talent! The grand finale of the Smart India Hackathon 2020 showcases this very spirit of innovation and excellence. On 1st August at 4:30 PM, looking forward to interacting with the finalists of the Hackathon and knowing more about their works."
"The Smart India Hackathon is a nationwide initiative to provide students with a platform to solve some of the pressing problems we face in our daily lives, and thus inculcate a culture of product innovation and a mindset of problem-solving. It has proved to be extremely successful in promoting out-of-the-box thinking in young minds," read a statement.
The first edition of Smart India Hackathon 2017 saw the participation of 42000 students which increased to 1 lakh in 2018 and to 2 lakh in 2019. The first round of Smart India Hackathon 2020 saw the participation of more than 4.5 lakh students.
The Grand Finale of the software edition in 2020 is being organized online by connecting all the participants throughout the nation together over a specially-built advanced platform. More than 10,000 students will be competing to solve 243 problem statements from 37 central government departments, 17 state governments and 20 industries.
